LAKEWOOD – Friday night’s series finale was fogged-out after four and one-third innings as heavy cloud-coverage sunk in low beneath the lights at FirstEnergy Park, making visibility non-existent, and endangering the safety of those in the field…which played well to the BlueClaws bats.

With one out in Lakewood’s half of the fourth frame, Andrew Pullin lifted a lazy fly ball to left field that sailed over the head of Kannapolis’ Carl Thomore. J.P. Crawford followed with another pop-fly to center that was never seen, falling in for a run scoring double.

However, it was a towering pop-up behind third base by Dylan Cozens that sent the Kannapolis infielders running for cover with gloves on heads. The ball eventually fell in for yet another RBI double, touching down six feet onto the outfield grass behind third base, forcing the umpiring crew to call for the delay that would not be lifted resulting in the second fog-out in FirstEnergy Park history (the first was back on June 13, 2009).

“It was pretty bad out there all night,” said Cozens, who was slotted in right field and rather upset that his run-scoring double would not stand due to the weather-shortened affair. “I’ve never been part of anything like that, it was strange, but we’re not too happy they called it. Everyone can always use a couple of more doubles.”

“The umpires called their supervisor,” explained Lakewood manager Greg Legg, “and they felt like it was unsafe to play, which, after three missed fly balls, I kind of have to agree with them…I tracked two of the fly balls but I never saw the third one. It was just too bad out there.”

Though Lakewood is scheduled to play Kannapolis again in July, this game will not be rescheduled as it is the last time the two teams meet in this first half of the year, and records re-set in the second half of the South Atlantic League season.

Thus, the 2-0 lead, run-scoring doubles, and four shutout innings by Tyler Viza (2-2, 3.71) have been stricken from the books.

The BlueClaws kick off a seven-game road trip starting tomorrow in Delmarva before returning home on May 17 to start a four-game set with Rome.

LAKEWOOD – Lakewood BlueClaws’ outfielder Dylan Cozens was namedSouth Atlantic League Player of the Week for the week ending May 4, it was announced Monday by league president Eric Krupa.

Cozens, who turns 20 on May 31, went 10-for-23 with four doubles, a triple, a home run, and scored four runs in helping the BlueClaws go 5-2 on their week-long road trip.

He had four multi-hit games last week, and his home run came in Lakewood’s 14-11 win at Asheville on Sunday. Cozens was a second round draft choice of the Philadelphia Phillies, Lakewood’s parent club, in 2012.

Cozens is the first BlueClaw to win SAL Player of the Week since first baseman Art Charles was named last July 22-28. Then BlueClaws third baseman and current Lehigh Valley third baseman Maikel Franco was named SAL Player of the Week the final week of the 2012 season.

On the season, Cozens is hitting .267 with three home runs and 16 RBI. He is also perfect in four stolen base attempts. He has 17 professional home runs, including nine last year with short-season Williamsport (Pa.).

The BlueClaws return home for a three-game series beginning Wednesday night against Kannapolis. Tickets for this week, and all remaining BlueClaws games, are available by calling 732-901-7000 option 2.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – David Dahl hit two home runs as the Asheville (N.C) Tourists took the series finale from the Lakewood BlueClaws, 5-1, on Monday afternoon at McCormick Field and handed Lakewood starter Mark Leiter Jr. his second loss of the four-game series.
Leiter Jr., the former Toms River High School North star, allowed three runs on three hits, struck out four and walked one in 4 2/3 innings. One of Dahl’s homers came off Leiter Jr. in the fifth. Leiter Jr. llowed six runs in a 1/3rd of an inning Friday night in a 13-2 Asheville win. Leiter. Jr. is now 3-3 on the season.
The BlueClaws (12-18) and Tourists (17-13) split the series. Lakewood finished its seven-game road trip at 5-2. Dating back to April 26th, the BlueClaws have won seven of their last nine games.

Dahl’s first home broke broke a 1-1 tie,. He added his second homer in the seventh inning off Shane Martin. Dahl now has eight homers on the season.

Willians Astudillo’s hit-and-run double in the fourth plated Lakewood’s lone run. The hit scored Dylan Cozens from first base. Cozens had singled, and finished the series with eight hits. . Astudillo had seven hits in the series.
BlueClaws’ shortstop JP Crawford had a bunt single in the sixth to extend his hitting streak to eight games.

The BlueClaws are off Tuesday and will open a three-game home series against Kannapolis (N.C.) on Wednesday night. Right-hander Drew Anderson (1-1, 4.22 earned run average ) starts the opener against right-hander Robinson Leyer (1-2, 6.43 ERA).

SPECIAL TO THE PRESS
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Record-setting offense and clutch relief pitching enabled the Lakewood BlueClaws to record a win 14-11 victory over the Asheville (N.C.) Tourists on Sunday.
Lakewood pounded out five home runs and 22 hits.
The homer total tied a club record set in 2004 in Lexington (Ky.) The hit total set a franchise record for a nine-inning game. The BlueClaws had 23 hits in a 22-inning game in 2006.
Cody Forsythe, with the tying run at the plate, got the final two outs as the BlueClaws (12-17) won their seventh in the last eight games.
Andrew Pullin, J.P. Crawford, Dylan Cozens, Samuel Hiciano and Willans Astudillo all homered. Crawford had four hits and Cozens, Astudillo, Mitch Walding and Pullin each had three hits.
Lakewood broke a 1-1 tie in the second on Pullin’s third homer of the season.
Astudillo and Cozens started a five-run third with consecutive homers. That marked the first time Lakewood had hit consecutive homers since last May 10, when Zach Taylor and Roman Quinn did it at Greensboro. Hiciano added a three-run homer later in the third.
Crawford led off the fourth with a homer. The BlueClaws scored two more times in the inning on a run-scoring fielder’s choice by Carlos Tocci and an RBI double by Pullin.
The Tourists chipped away with three in the fifth and five in the sixth. They pulled within a run on David Dahl’s two-out, two-run, double off Tyler Buckley.
Lakewood added two in the eighth inning on two out hits by Astudillo and Mitch Walding, and two more in the ninth inning.
Asheville got two in the ninth off Ulises Joaquin before Forsythe closed the door for his fourth save.
Alejandro Arteaga (3-3) allowed six runs in 5 2/3 innings but earned his third win of the season. Asheville starter Zach Jemiola (2-3) gave up four home runs and seven runs in three inning.
The series and the seven-game road trip conclude at 11:05 a.m. Monday Mark Leiter Jr. (3-2, 3.62) throws for Lakewood against Antonio Senzatela (2-2, 5.61).
It will be the second start of the series for Leiter Jr., the former Toms River High School North star. He gave up six runs in a third of an inning Friday night in a 13-2 Asheville win.
Lakewood returns home Wednesday night to begin a three-game series against the Kannapolis (N.C.) Intimidators.

SPECIAL TO THE PRESS
ASHEVILLE, NC – Willians Astudillo broke a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning with a three-run triple as the Lakewood BlueClaws defeated Asheville 7-4 on Saturday night at McCormick Field.
Mitch Walding had three hits, an RBI and scored twice for the BlueClaws, who have now won six of their last seven games and have split the first two games of their four-game series in Asheville.

Lakewood (11-17) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on an RBI double by Samuel Hiciano, who also hit a solo home run to tie the game 3-3 in the sixth inning. Hiciano has four hits (three for extra bases) in the first two games of the series.

In the seventh, Astudillo came up against Carlos Estevez after hits by JP Crawford and Dylan Cozens and a walk to Andrew Pullin. His triple gave him a team-leading 16 RBI.

Crawford added two hits for the BlueClaws and is now 21 for his last 65.
Keivi Rojas (1-0) earned the win with four innings of one-run relief behind starter Tyler Viza, who allowed three runs, two earned in five inning.

SPECIAL TO THE PRESSASHEVILLE, N.C. - Asheville scored six runs in the first inning off Lakewood BlueClaws starter Mark Leiter Jr. and routed the Lakewood BlueClaws 13-2 on Friday night at McCormick Field.
The win was Asheville’s seventh straight and snapped the BlueClaws winning streak at five.

Ryan McMahon, who had five RBI in the game, had a two-run single to highlight as part of the first. McMahon leads the South Atlantic League with 28 RBI.

Leiter Jr. (3-2), the former Toms River High School North star allowed six runs in one-third f an inning. The six runs were the most allowed in an inning by the BlueClaws this year.
All nine Asheville starters had hits in the game, led by three from Ramiel Tapia. Max White had three RBI for the Tourists. Asheville scored in seven of the eight innings it batted.

Last Game…The BlueClaws swept a doubleheader from Lexington (Ky.)on Thursday, taking the first game 3-1 behind Drew Anderson and winning the second game 10-5…Anderson allowed a run in 5 2/3 innings for his first win with the BlueClaws while Deivi Grullon homered in the first game and Jan Hernandez homered in the second game.

Five In a Row…The BlueClaws have won five games in a row, their first five-game winning streak since July 6-11 of last year, which turned into a six-game winning streak, a streak, their longest of last year, they can match with a win today in Asheville.

Welcome to Asheville…The BlueClaws and Tourists (a Colorado Rockies team) play a four-game series at McCormick Field…They will play four games in Lakewood in August…The BlueClaws came here last year and went 0-3 (one game cancelled), allowing at least 10 runs in all three games…They did not come to Asheville in 2012, but went 2-3 here in 2011…Overall they have lost five straight at McCormick Field.

Hey Willians…At an even .400 (28-70), Lakewood’s Willians Astudillo leads the South Atlantic League in hitting…He is 3rd in the minors behind Mookie Betts (AA – Red Sox) at .438 and TJ Rivera (A+ – Mets) at .408)…He leads the team with nine multi-hit games.

Jumpin’ JP…After starting the season 9-35, JP Crawford is 18-56 (.321) since April 14th…He has walked 15 times (5th in the league) against 15 strikeouts)…Crawford was the 16th overall pick in last year’s draft and is the 7th first-round pick (Gavin Floyd, Cole Hamels, Greg Golson, Kyle Drabek, Anthony Hewitt, Jesse Biddle) to play for the BlueClaws…Only Floyd, selected 4th overall, was a higher pick.

Recent Transactions…Among the newest BlueClaws are 3B Mitch Walding (5th rd, draft choice in 2011 by Lakewood’s parent club, the Philadelphia Phillies), who played with Lakewood last year, C Deivi Grullon (14th ranked prospect in the Phillies’ system per Baseball America), who hit his first home run on Thursday, and RHP Delvi Francisco, who went 4-5 with a 3.18 ERA out of the Lakewood bullpen last year…All have been activated since Sunday.

Youth Is Served…18 year old BlueClaws catcher Deivi Grullon and 19 year old third baseman Jan Hernandez each homered for Lakewood in the double-header sweep of Lexington on Thursday night…It was the first home runs of the year for each player…Both joined Lakewood within the last week.

Notes: Makes his sixth start of the year and first against Asheville…Threw a career long eight innings (of scoreless baseball) on Saturday against Savannah, earning his third win of the season…Topped his seven-inning outing at Greensboro on April 9th…Has allowed eight hits and one run over his last 14 innings…Threw 16 scoreless innings with Lakewood last year (5-1, 1.37 ERA with BlueClaws)…Father Mark Sr. pitched 10 years in big leagues including two with Phillies…Mark Jr. went to Toms River North, just 6 miles from FirstEnergy Park.

News & Notes: Makes his fifth start of the year and first against Lakewood…Gave up two runs in six innings last time out against Augusta on Saturday, earning his first win of the season…Gave up six of his 14 earned runs allowed in his first game of the season on April 8th at West Virginia and has allowed eight ER in 17 IP since…Went to the same high school as BlueClaws OF Dylan Cozens (Chapparal HS in Scottsdale) and graduated in 2011, while Cozens followed a year later.

SPECIAL TO THE PRESSLEXINGTON, KY – Drew Anderson gave up a run in 5 2/3 innings nnings and Deivi Grullon’s two-run home run in the third inning provided the punch in the first game and Jan Hernandez’s three-run home run was the big hit in a five-run fifth inning as the Lakewood BlueClaws swept a double from the Lexington Legends, 3-1, 10-5 and extended their winning streak to five on Thursday night.
It is the first time Lakewood has won five straight since last July 6-10.
Anderson (1-1) tied his career high with seven strikeouts, and left with two runners on in the sixth. Ulises Joaquin got the final out of the inning amd then pitched the seventh to earn his first save since 2011 with the Dominican Summer League Phillies.
Anderson, who made his BlueClaws debut on April 24, , retired the first eight hitters and did not allow a run until the sixth.
Grullon, an 18-year old who joined the BlueClaws on Sunday, hit his first home run with the BlueClaws and second professional home run off Lexington starter Luis Santos in the third inning
The BlueClaws (10-16) added an unearned run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Dylan Cozens.
In the nightcap, JP Crawford gave Lakewood the lead with a two-run double in the second off Luke Farrell (0-3) after Lexington led 3-1 after the first.
Lakewood added to their lead in the fifth. With one run already in, Hernandez hit an opposite field, homer, , his first as a BlueClaw and fourth as a professional. The 19 year old was a third round draft choice of the Philadelphia Phillies, Lakewood’s parent club, last year.
Ranfi Casimiro (1-3) allowed five runs in five innings, but got his first win of the season. Tyler Buckley and Yacksel Rios threw a scoreless inning apiece to finish off the win.
The 10 runs scored by the BlueClaws was a new season high and the five runs in the fifthtied a season high for runs in an inning.
Crawford went 2-5 with two RBI while Willians Astudillo was 2-4 with a walk and an RBI.
The BlueClaws head to Asheville (N.C) to open a four-game weekend series Friday-Monday with the Tourists, a Colorado Rockies’ team. Right-hander and former Toms River High School North star Mark Leiter Jr. (3-1) will start for Lakewood on Friday night.

LEXINGTON, KY – The Lakewood BlueClaws pounded out 13 hits and tied a season-high with nine runs in opening their seven-game road trip with a 9-4 win over the Lexington (Ky.) Legends on Tuesday night in a rain-shortened game.

Play was stopped after the top of the seventh inning. After waiting 50 minutes, the game was called, giving the BlueClaws (8-16) their third straight win.

After the BlueClaws scored twice in the first inning, Lexington scored four times in the bottom half of the first off Lakewood starter Alejandro Arteaga. Because Arteaga made a throwing error on a comebacker to the mound, only two of the four runs were earned.

After the first inning, the right-hander settled in. At one point, Arteaga retired seven straight and did not allow a hit to the final 17 hitters he faced.

Offensively, the BlueClaws had seven doubles, one off the franchise record. Dylan Cozens and Willians Astudillo each had two doubles..

Lakewood scored in five of the seven innings and took the lead on Jan Hernandez’s RBI double in the third. Five BlueClaws (Dylan Cozens, Willians Astudillo, Mitch Walding, Samuel Hiciano, and Jan Hernandez) had two hits in the win.

Walding, who was activated off the disabled list earlier in the day, went 2-4 with two RBI in his season debut.

The series continues on Wednesday at 10:05 am. Right-hander Drew Anderson (0-1, 7.20) makes his second start of the season against Lexington right-hander Luis Santos (2-0, 1.69).

The BlueClaws received Deivi Grullon from extended spring training this morning as former Phillies supplemental first-round selection of 2011, Larry Greene Jr., heads to the seven-day disabled list, retroactive to April 24th, with a minor wrist sprain.

Grullon, who is currently listed as the Phillies 14th ranked organizational prospect by Baseball America, will replace the void left by Gabriel Lino, who was promoted to the Clearwater Threshers on Saturday morning.

It will be interesting to see how Grullon fits into the rotation of the BlueClaws catching corp, which includes Willians Astudillo (who currently leads the South Atlantic League in batting at an even .400) who spent most of his time at first base this season, and Jose Mayorga, who stepped into the starting lineup on Saturday and helped guide Mark Leiter Jr. through a career-best eight innings of shutout baseball (read about it here).

Grullon, born in 1996, is now the youngest player on the BlueClaws roster…sorry Carlos Tocci, but you’re now the seasoned veteran.

About this Blog

Keeping tabs on the future Phillies stars with the Lakewood BlueClaws

About the Author

Chris RotoloChris Rotolo graduated from The College Of New Jersey in May of 2011 and has been working in the Asbury Park Press' Sports Department since September of 2010 covering BlueClaws Baseball, Ice Hockey, Track & Field, and Cross Country, Tennis, and more. Follow along on Twitter: @rote7123E-mail Chris

Steve FalkSteve Falk has been a high school football writer at APP for a year. Previously, he was at the Ocean County Observer for 18 seasons.E-mail Steve